‘Every human being has a place where he or she feels at home – a country, a family, or a type of music. I’m lucky enough to have a home in all three of these categories, and something of each of them can be found on this CD. As in a rhapsody, they are linked by the music of my native country, of my ancestors, the music I grew up with, and without which I wouldn’t be what I am today. We come from Moldova, a beautiful country with heady rustic fragrances, an endless open sky, warm sunshine and rich black soil. Life there is quite similar to southern Italy: we go to church on Sundays, we make good wine, we eat polenta and olives, we get worked up about the Mafia. On feast days the tables groan with food, people are jolly and affectionate, the dances are lively and contagious. But Moldova is also very poor. My mother once said that God looked at the map of the world and observed: ‘This little people is in such desperate straits that I must do something to console them: I’ll send them lovely folk music.’’ -- Patricia Kopatchinskaja

The collaboration with conductor/composer Peter Eötvos and the programme are an intense series of connections. Between Bartók, Ligeti, Eötvös and Kopatchinskaja, there are many links: Hungary, the land of the 3 composers featured Peter Eötvos was the conductor of the first performance of the second version of Ligeti violin concerto, in 1992, with Ensemble Modern Patricia Kopatchinakaja and Peter Eötvös have been working together for 4 years, performing several concertos including those recorded here “Kopatchinskaja’s fantasy and fluidity in Bartok is spellbinding.” -- BBC Music Magazine | Orchestral Choice “Despite the huge technical challenges thrown at her, Patricia Kopatchinskaja plays with a deep and selfless understansing of each score.” -- The Sunday Times “Peter Eötvös impose à ses orchestres une netteté au scalpel à laquelle répond la sonorité d’une pureté inouïe du violon peu vibré de Patricia Kopatchinskaja.” -- Le Soir “Ihr Barfußsein auf dem Podium ist für die moldawische Geigerin Patricia Kopatchinskaja natürlich nur ein Ausdruck gespannter Sinneswahrnehmung ihrer unmittelbaren professionellen Umgebung. Podiumsschwingungen, Energieströme der Orchestermusiker, Impulse vom Dirigierpult, Stimmungen aus dem Publikum – das alles soll direkt, ohne Leder, Wolle oder Strumpfkunstfaser direkt zu ihr vordringen, sich sensualistisch ausbreiten, ihre Interpretation beflügeln.” -- Die Welt -- Gramophone Choice --

Giovanni Antonini and his ensemble Il Giardino Armonico celebrate the composer who made them famous: Antonio Vivaldi. Their recordings of The Four Seasons and Cecilia Bartoli's famous first Vivaldi recital left an indelible mark on the discography of the Red-haired Priest! Their musical fireworks display continues with a programme of concertos that is bound to provoke strong reactions, since it is the result of a meeting with a musician who is equally adept at shifting boundaries, the violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja. Together they have devised a programme entitled WHAT'S NEXT VIVALDI?, which interweaves ultra-virtuosic concertos by Vivaldi (Il Grosso Mogul RV 208, La Tempesta di Mare (for violin!) RV 253, and RV 157, 191, 550 among others) with, between each concerto, short pieces written by much more recent composers, Luca Francesconi, Simone Movio, Giacinto Scelsi, Aureliano Cattaneo and Giovanni Sollima, and mostly commissioned by Patricia Kopatchinskaja especially for this programme.

One of the most promising violinists of the new generation, young Moldovan Patricia Kopatchinskaja makes her Naïve debut with a captivating disc that includes Beethoven’s masterpiece, the “Kreutzer” Sonata, Ravel’s Violin Sonata, Bartók’s Romanian Dances and the premier recording of the Violin Sonata by her accompanist, the outstanding Turkish pianist and composer, Fazil Say. Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9 in A, commonly known as the “Kreutzer” Sonata, was published in 1802, and is known for its demanding violin part, unusual length and emotional scope. The piece’s title comes from its dedicatee, Rodolphe Kreutzer, who was considered to be the finest violinist of the day. Ironically, Kreutzer never performed it, and considered it unplayable. Patricia Kopatchinskaja was born in Moldavia (now Moldova), and studied composition and the violin in Vienna and Berne before winning first prize in the International Henryk Szeryng Competition in 2000, followed two years later by the prestigious Crédit Suisse Group Young Artist Award. She represented Austria in the ‘Rising Stars’ concert series in the main European centres and New York. In 2004 she received the New Talent-SPP Award from the EBU and in 2006 the Förderpreis Deutschlandfunk, and now plays with leading orchestras and major festivals worldwide. More information at Born in Ankara in Turkey, Fazil Say studied piano and composition at the State Conservatory of his home city. At 17 he was awarded a scholarship enabling him to work for five years with David Levine at the Robert Schumann Institute in Düsseldorf. From 1992-1995 he pursued his studies at the Berlin Conservatory. Say’s discography includes Stravinsky’s four-hand arrangement of The Rite of Spring, in which he plays both parts himself. This recording brought him several international awards, including the 2001 EchoPreis Klassik and the German Music Critics’ Best Recording of the Year. For Naïve, he has made recordings of Mozart Piano Concertos Nos. 21, 21 & 23 (V4992) and Beethoven’s ‘Appassionata’, ‘Tempest’ & ‘Waldstein’ Sonatas (V5016), and his own music, Black Earth (V4954). His most recent CD, a selection of Haydn Sonatas (V5070), was released in 2007. He gives a recital at the Edinburgh International Festival on 19 August.